Introduction to
the
Philosophy of the
Human Person
Fallacie
s
What is an
argument?
In Philosophy, an
argument is a series of
statements called the
premises, intended to
determine the degree of
truth of another
statement, the
A premise is a statement in
an argument that provides
reason or support for the
conclusion. There can be one or
many premises in a single
argument. A conclusion is a
statement in an argument that
indicates of what the arguer is
trying to convince the
Not all arguments are
true. Some arguments
possess fallacious premise or
statement. That is why we
should evaluate arguments so
we can avoid them.
A fallacious argument may
be deceptive by appearing to
be better than it really is.
Fallacy
Fallacy comes from the
Latin word fallacia. It is a
noun which means...
• wrong belief
• a false or mistaken idea
• the quality of being false
or wrong
• trickery
• erroneous
• an often-plausible
argument using false or
invalid inference
Fallacies of Ambiguity
Types of
Fallacies Fallacies of Relevance
Fallacies of Insufficient
Evidence
Fallacies
Fallacies of Fallacies of Fallacies of
Ambiguity Relevance Insufficient Evidence
• Equivocation Fallacy • Appeal to the Person • Fallacy of Composition
• Syntactic Ambiguity • Appeal to Pity • Appeal to Authority
• Appeal to Force • Appeal to Popularity
• Appeal to Ignorance
• Complex Question Fallacy
• Hasty Generalization
• Tu Quoque Fallacy
• Post Hoc Fallacy
• Appeal to Tradition
Fallacies of
Ambiguity
The first general category
involves the imprecise use of
language.
Each language has its own
"logic" — the way the written
symbols or the spoken symbols
are arranged to convey certain
meanings. When a word or an
expression is used in an
imprecise manner it is a fallacy.
Fallacies of
Ambiguity
• Equivocation Fallacy
• Syntactic Ambiguity
1. Equivocation Fallacy
The fallacy of equivocation is
committed when a term is
used in two or more
different senses within a
single argument.
If you use one meaning of
the word in a premise; then
another meaning of the word in
another premise, or in the
conclusion, you may appear to
have proved something.
Example
1:
Logic teaches you how to argue.
People argue entirely too much.
Therefore we don't need to teach
people Logic.
In this "argument" the word "argue" is used in
two entirely different senses.
In the first line, the word "argue" is used to
mean only the process of arranging propositions
to flow logically from a premise to a conclusion.
In the second line, the word "argue" is used to
include such meanings as a heated discussion, a
bitter disagreement, a contentious altercation, a
dispute or a controversy.
Example 2:
Congressmen can create or abolish
laws.
The law of supply and demand is a
law.
Therefore, congressmen can abolish
the law of supply and demand.
This argument commits the fallacy of
equivocation since the term “law” has been used
in two different senses.
In the first premise, it refers to “rule binding in
a particular community or society”; while in the
second premise, it refers to “general principle
deduced from facts.” lumping these two meanings
of “law” into a single line of reasoning will lead to
such absurd conclusion as the one above.
2. Syntactic
Ambiguity
Syntactic ambiguity is when
phrase or grammatical
construction is used which can
be understood more than one
way.
Example 1:
Who is alone, Laurie
or her mother?
Laurie calls her
mother when
she's alone.
Example 2:
Who made a mistake?
John told
Henry that he
had made a
mistake.
Note:
A Syntactic Ambiguity can
be removed by
reconstructing the
sentence.
Fallacies of
Relevance
In Fallacies of Relevance the
premises are “logically
irrelevant” to the conclusion.
However, they are
“psychologically or
emotionally relevant” to the
conclusion. Therefore, the
conclusion appears or seems to
follow from the premises
although the premises in fact
provide no genuine evidence for
the conclusion.
Fallacies
of
Relevance
• Appeal to the Person (Argumentum ad
Hominem)
• Appeal to Pity (Argumentum ad Misericordiam)
• Appeal to Force (Argumentum ad Baculum)
1. Appeal to the Person
(Argumentum ad
Hominem)
Fallacious argument that attacks not
an opponent's beliefs but his motives or
character.
An argument that shows an
opponent's statement to be inconsistent
with his other beliefs.
1. Appeal to the Person
(Argumentum ad Hominem)
Personal Attack
“How can we possibly believe about
your stand about peace, you are a son of a
criminal!”
Circumstantial
“Don’t you dare scold me on being late,
you are also late yesterday!”
2. Appeal to Pity
(Argumentum ad
An Misericordiam)
appeal to pity attempts to
persuade using emotion – specifically,
sympathy rather than evidence. Playing
on the pity that someone feels for an
individual or group can certainly affect
what that person thinks about the group;
this is a highly effective, and so quite
Example:
I am a single parent, solely responsible for
the financial support of my children.
If you give me this traffic ticket, I will lose
my license and be unable to drive to work.
If I cannot work, my children and I will
become homeless and may starve to
death.
Therefore, you should not give me this
Example (Student to teacher)
I realize that this essay is six weeks overdue
and the final exam is over, but I have many
personal problems. I have a part-time job
that I need to scrape together enough money
to stay in school, and I have been having
emotional problems. The person I have been
living with has just left me, my dog just died,
my grandmother is very ill, and I have
recently broken out with ugly warts. Since this
is the last course I need to graduate, and it is
obvious I’m a victim of circumstances,
perhaps you could kindly make an exception in
Note:
Our emotional responses are not
always a good guide to truth;
emotions can cloud rather than
clarify issues.
We should base our beliefs upon
reason, rather than on emotion, if we
want our beliefs to be true.
3. Appeal to Force
(Argumentum ad
Baculum)
In the appeal to force, someone in a
position of power threatens to bring
down unfortunate consequences upon
anyone who dares to disagree with a
proffered proposition. The literal meaning
of the Latin baculum is “big stick”, hence
an argument based on force or fear.
Since I am the boss,
you must vote for my
candidate or else I
will fire you from your
job.
College Professor
If you do not agree with my
political opinions, you will receive
a grade of 70 for this course.
I believe that Herbert Hoover was the
greatest President of the United
States.
Therefore, Herbert Hoover was the
greatest President of the United
States.
Fallacies
Fallacies of Fallacies of Fallacies of
Ambiguity Relevance Insufficient Evidence
• Equivocation Fallacy • Appeal to the Person • Fallacy of Composition
• Syntactic Ambiguity • Appeal to Pity • Appeal to Authority
• Appeal to Force • Appeal to Popularity
• Appeal to Ignorance
• Complex Question Fallacy
• Hasty Generalization
• Tu Quoque Fallacy
• Post Hoc Fallacy
• Appeal to Tradition
Identify the fallacy
committed by each
argument.
I am sorry for stealing your
money. I am an orphan. I don’t
have someone who can provide
for my needs.
I am your father, follow my
rules or else I will not give you
any inheritance.
The chicken is ready to eat.
Huwag na lang magsalita
kapag wala namang ambag
sa research.
Puno na ang timba.
Natumba ang puno.
Samakatuwid, ang puno ay timba.
